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| Saturday, 13-Nov-2010 02:57 |
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Pearl Jewelry - The Story of Pearl Hunters
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As long as pearl jewelry have been known to people, they have been a highly sought commodity for their beauty. It's only in recent times however that the industry has taken the hunt for the perfect pearl to a whole different level. Today, the shiny orbs that we see on in display in jewelry stores have actually almost always been grown in farms.
That's a far cry from the dangerous extraction and collection methods used before the invention of modern technology. In the past, not more than 100 years ago, the only way to retrieve pearls was by diving in lakes, floods and the ocean to pick them up, one at the time. The unfortunate divers who'se job it was to do this, were often poor and lured by the relative large sums they could get. The diver would sometimes have to dive as deep as 100 feet on one single breath of air. In order to preserve air and to stay submerged the longest, the divers would hold on to heavy stones on the way down.
Naturally, this dangerous activity was reserved for the desperate or the powerless - in many cases slaves or extremely poor peasents. Today, this method is all but obsolete in most places of the world. The cheaper cultured pearls have become popular and are many times the only pearls available to the consumer.
There are however still a few isolated areas that practice this old art of pearl diving. Some of the finest natural pearl speciments come from the gulf of Bahrain. Here, divers still risk their health to retrieve what are considered the top of the crop in the world. In fact, Bahrain wants no part of the sale of cultured pearls, banned from trade. Bahrain is one of the few places on earth that does an active job in trying to preserve the natural habitat and waters from pollution.
It's an interesting story and one that continues to fascinate buyers around the world. Somehow, the beauty of the pearl grows when it's been retrieved from the depth of the ocean.
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| Saturday, 13-Nov-2010 02:56 |
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Buying Pearl Jewelry Without Being Ripped Off
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Buying pearl jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of pearl jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's some information to help you get the best quality pearl jewelry for your money, whether you're shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online.
Pearls
Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials.
Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pears. A cultured pearl's value is largely based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating, which give it luster. Jewelers should tell your if the pearls are cultured or imitation. Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated.
Clams, oysters, mussels and many other mollusks with limy shells are known to produce pearls. But very few kinds yield gem pearls of jeweler's quality. The pearl is an abnormal growth of mother-of-pearl, or nacre, imbedded in the soft bodies of these shellfish. It is built up, layer upon layer, in the same way as nacre is added to the lining of the growing shell and always has the same color and luster. For example, over the country, hundreds of good-sized pearls are found each year in the oysters we eat. Unfortunately these have no commercial value regardless of whether they have been cooked or not because they are dull opaque white or purple like the shell of the parent oyster. In recent times almost all pearls of gem quality come from the oriental pearl oyster which has a bright shimmering translucent nacre.
A pearl starts growing when some irritating foreign substance such as a sand grain, bit of mud, parasite or other object becomes lodged in the shell-producing gland called the mantle. Pearls formed in the soft flesh where nacre can be added on all sides are most likely to be spherical and the most highly prized. By far the great majority are flattened or variously distorted and have little value. Size, color, luster and freedom from flaws are other essential qualities. Unlike other gems, such as diamonds, pearls have an average life of only about 50 years. In time the small amount of water in a pearl's make-up is lost and its surface cracks. Because they are mostly lime, necklaces which are worn often are injured by the acid secretions of the human skin.
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| Monday, 8-Nov-2010 03:31 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
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Pearl Jewelry - The Story of Pearl Hunters
|
|
As long as pearl jewelry have been known to people, they have been a
highly sought commodity for their beauty. It's only in recent times
however that the industry has taken the hunt for the perfect pearl to
a whole different level. Today, the shiny orbs that we see on in
display in jewelry stores have actually almost always been grown in
farms.
That's a far cry from the dangerous extraction and collection methods
used before the invention of modern technology. In the past, not more
than 100 years ago, the only way to retrieve pearls was by diving in
lakes, floods and the ocean to pick them up, one at the time. The
unfortunate divers who'se job it was to do this, were often poor and
lured by the relative large sums they could get. The diver would
sometimes have to dive as deep as 100 feet on one single breath of
air. In order to preserve air and to stay submerged the longest, the
divers would hold on to heavy stones on the way down.
Naturally, this dangerous activity was reserved for the desperate or
the powerless - in many cases slaves or extremely poor peasents.
Today, this method is all but obsolete in most places of the world.
The cheaper cultured pearls have become popular and are many times
the only pearls available to the consumer.
There are however still a few isolated areas that practice this old
art of pearl diving. Some of the finest natural pearl speciments come
from the gulf of Bahrain. Here, divers still risk their health to
retrieve what are considered the top of the crop in the world. In
fact, Bahrain wants no part of the sale of cultured pearls, banned
from trade. Bahrain is one of the few places on earth that does an
active job in trying to preserve the natural habitat and waters from
pollution.
It's an interesting story and one that continues to fascinate buyers
around the world. Somehow, the beauty of the pearl grows when it's
been retrieved from the depth of the ocean.
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| Monday, 8-Nov-2010 03:28 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
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Buying Pearl Jewelry Without Being Ripped Off
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|
Buying pearl jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of pearl jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's some information to help you get the best quality pearl jewelry for your money, whether you're shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online.
Pearls
Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials.
Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pears. A cultured pearl's value is largely based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating, which give it luster. Jewelers should tell your if the pearls are cultured or imitation. Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated.
Clams, oysters, mussels and many other mollusks with limy shells are known to produce pearls. But very few kinds yield gem pearls of jeweler's quality. The pearl is an abnormal growth of mother-of-pearl, or nacre, imbedded in the soft bodies of these shellfish. It is built up, layer upon layer, in the same way as nacre is added to the lining of the growing shell and always has the same color and luster. For example, over the country, hundreds of good-sized pearls are found each year in the oysters we eat. Unfortunately these have no commercial value regardless of whether they have been cooked or not because they are dull opaque white or purple like the shell of the parent oyster. In recent times almost all pearls of gem quality come from the oriental pearl oyster which has a bright shimmering translucent nacre.
A pearl starts growing when some irritating foreign substance such as a sand grain, bit of mud, parasite or other object becomes lodged in the shell-producing gland called the mantle. Pearls formed in the soft flesh where nacre can be added on all sides are most likely to be spherical and the most highly prized. By far the great majority are flattened or variously distorted and have little value. Size, color, luster and freedom from flaws are other essential qualities. Unlike other gems, such as diamonds, pearls have an average life of only about 50 years. In time the small amount of water in a pearl's make-up is lost and its surface cracks. Because they are mostly lime, necklaces which are worn often are injured by the acid secretions of the human skin.
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| Wednesday, 4-Nov-2009 02:19 |
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A case of dual use: Iran's free zones
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The former president of Iran, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, envisioned Iran's Free and Special Economic Zones (F and SEZ) as a means of increasing the country's links to the world economy. However, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has used the zones to restrict the movement of goods, build relationships with ideologically sympathetic regimes, and distribute patronage to freshwater pearl necklace regime stalwarts.
While 'mis-used' relative to their original purpose, and underperforming their potential, the free zones may yet prove a Trojan Horse of sorts for the Islamic Republic, to the extent they promote increased trade, motivate spending on internal infrastructure, and serve as rallying points for those who favour economic decentralisation.
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| Wednesday, 4-Nov-2009 02:04 |
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US piles the pressure on La Familia business
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The two-day initiative was carried out in 19 states and resulted in the arrests of 303 people. This operation was part of Project Coronado, which was launched in 2005, targeting Mexican cartel operations in the United States. With pearl jewelry wholesale the recent detentions, 1,186 people have been arrested since Project Coronado was launched, along with the seizure of 2,700 lb of methamphetamine, almost 2,000 kg of cocaine and 29 lb of heroin.
La Familia is one of Mexico's most violent drug cartels, based in the central state of Michoacán. It controls part of the passage of drugs from South America towards the US. The group was originally a local branch of the powerful Gulf Cartel, working with other cells of the group, such as the Zetas, the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel.
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| Wednesday, 4-Nov-2009 01:56 |
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Route of the problem - Trafficking and addiction threaten Russia
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In early October, Viktor Ivanov, head of the Federal Narcotics Control Service (Federalnaya sluzhba narkokontrolya Rossii: FSNK), accused the United States's counter-narcotic policy in Afghanistan of being "insufficient".
This represented an escalation of rhetoric from March, when Ivanov warned of an ongoing flow of Afghan narcotics through Russia, despite a 70 per cent rise in seizure rates. In a report he circulated at the time, he warned: "In recent years Russia has not just become massively hooked on Afghan opiates, it has also become the world's absolute leader in the opiate trade and the number one heroin consumer."
According to wholesale pearl jewelry the Russian health ministry, the country has up to 2.5 million drug addicts out of a population of some 140 million, most aged between 18 and 39. However, other estimates place the figure higher and even Ivanov acknowledged in March that there are more than 5.1 million drug users in Russia, almost double the fig
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| Wednesday, 4-Nov-2009 01:54 |
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US brokers a compromise in Honduras crisis
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A team of United States diplomats brokered the deal with support from the Organisation of American States (OAS). It paves the way for the reinstatement of President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a military-backed constitutional coup on 28 June and is currently taking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.
Exact details of the accord were not immediately released, but it seemed de facto president Roberto Micheletti had agreed to freshwater pearl jewlelry allow the question of Zelaya's return to be placed before a vote in Congress, subject to a prior but non-binding opinion from the Supreme Court. A temporary power-sharing government would also be created, with both sides committed to respecting the results of scheduled 29 November presidential elections.
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| Wednesday, 4-Nov-2009 01:26 |
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British Army considers downsizing CBRN role
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Senior British Army commanders are looking to pearl jewelry downsize the service's role in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) operations to divert personnel to support the war in Afghanistan.
The British Army's contribution to the Joint CBRN (JCBRN) Regiment, which provides specialist reconnaissance, containment and decontamination support to the UK armed forces on operations overseas and government agencies in the UK, is under scrutiny in a major review of roles and missions.
Dubbed the Future Army Structures (Next Steps) (FAS(NS)), the study has proposed that the armoured unit 1 Royal Tank Regiment (1 RTR), which provides the core of the JCBRN Regiment along with 27 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Regiment, be re-roled as a new formation reconnaissance regiment. It would then be able to support an ongoing rotation of British Army brigades to Afghanistan, a senior army source said. "The army only has five formation reconnaissance brigades and six deployable brigades so the rotation cycle is out of sync and means the reconnaissance troops have to pearl jewelry spend longer than is bearable on operations to cover the gap in the roulement plan."
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